Secrets
by Dark's Lady
Summary: Everyone has secrets. But a secret like Toby has? Unlikely. At least, Toby thought...
1. Chapter 1

**Secrets**

**Chapter 1**

It's not that the truth about Toby Logan was some mysterious, well hidden secret. All it took was a keen eye, and an open mind to the socially unaccepted myths of the unknown. Whether it be the ability to see ghosts, feel others emotions, levitate objects, or read minds, people often would scoff at the idea of these things existing, and then come up with reasonable excuses for why these things do not exist. Thankfully, this worked to Toby's advantage. And it worked for all the others who had abilities that also wished for their secret to stay exactly that;

A secret.

But even if the outside world chose to be oblivious to all the signs of Toby Logan's incredibly apparent gift, it did not go unnoticed by everyone. Of course there was the occasional best friend, lover, detective or psychologist that would eventually figure it out after gathering enough evidence and finally coaxing the truth out of the gifted individual…but it usually took someone of the same caliber; someone with a similar secret, to see the unseen, and the obvious reality that stood right in front of their eyes that nobody else would accept existed.

The reality, that nobody was willing to believe.

Toby Logan was in for the shock of his life. Seriously. Not just like, "whoa this is really strange!" But more like, "No way…no friggen way should this be happening!…..holy mother of Jesus Christ!" sort of way.

And it was this initial shock that would begin a close bond of friendship for Toby. And not a friendship like he had with Oz; his best buddy ever that would talk about girls and alcohol and all that stuff best buds are for…But a friendship that would create an incredible team when it came to saving the world; one mind…one person, at a time.

"Dude…Y'know what you need?" Oz said as the sirens of the pumpkin (aka the ambulance they drove) echoed through the streets as they zig zagged pass cars, busses and the occasional old lady with a walking stick. Toby sat gripping the sides of his seat for support as the pumpkin would jerk side to side. His heart was pounding hard as he realized that his life probably shortened everytime he rode shotgun with Oz driving. The stress and tension it caused him was too much sometimes.

By the way...Oz nearly ran over the old lady. But luckily another pedestrian…a man with really cool dreadlocks pulled the lady out of the way just in time. Her hearing aid wasn't working so she didn't hear the ambulance coming. And her eyesight?Well...y'know how it is with old people and their eyesight.

Toby took a deep steady breath in a vain attempt to lower his heartbeat which was beating way too fast. "Why don't you enlighten me Oz?" Oz snorted which signified his amusement with the question.

"Don't mind if I do!" He replied, taking a hard left. Toby slammed his hand into the window as he was thrown into it. And yes, he was wearing a seat belt, but when driving with Oz it turned out that the tiny thin piece of whatever the seatbelts were made of were not enough to keep you safe from injury.

"Well ok…I've been thinking—"

"Non-stop," Toby added dryly. Oz rolled his eyes.

"And as I've been thinking, I've decided that since you're a super hero and all…and I'm like, you're totally awesome sidekick, all you need now is to find a few other people like you…and BAM you've got your own superhero league goin! Y'know, like the Justice League, or the x-men or something? Just think about it man. We totally need to do that!"

_Bwahahaha imagine us in spandex..._

Toby grimaced at the mental image Oz projected of him in spandex. He shivered. In an attempt to get rid of the image faster, he pushed the conversation in a different direction.

"Oz, how likely do you think it is that I'm ever going to find someone else like me? I mean, it's not like there are thousands of mind readers out there. If there were, you would think I would know, right?"

Oz shrugged.

"Well it doesn't have to be mind readers. Maybe a couple guys with superstrength...x-ray vision, flight, invisibility...telekinesis...y'know that sort of thing. But seriously we should try and find others with a secret like you Toby. I mean, with the totally cool spandex to look forward to—"

"OK, got it Oz…" Toby said as he shivered again in despair at the stray thought from Oz that landed in his head. It was NOT pretty. Oz chuckled.

"Oh c'mon Oz! Cut it out!" Toby said as the image oh him in spandex lingered. He tightly shut his eyes as his mind grimaced with the realization of his best bud practically harassing him during work.

Abruptly, the image changed to Olivia in spandex.

Ok. Change that to sexual harassment. Ok...well...sexual harassment that Toby didn't mind.

Toby opened his eyes and they widened as the image traced Liv's curves; her long brown hair draping over her shoulders seductively, as her eyes stared straight at Toby.

Oz smiled mischievously.

The next image was of Oz in spandex, and all the arousal that had started to build up in Toby quickly dissipated.

Toby sighed deeply.

"Y'know this is practically abuse right? I could report you," Toby said glaring at Oz. It was an empty threat.

_Right. And you'll just walk up to Ryder and say, "Sir...Oz has been sending very distracting thoughts of Olivia in spandex…"_

"Olivia in spandex is not the problem," Toby said with a grin. "It's when you decide to send images of me and then YOU in spandex…Remind me…Why are we talking about spandex?"

"I said you needed to find a band of merry men to join. Y'know, like a Justice League?"

"Oh yeah," Toby muttered as he sank deeper into his seat.

The pumpkin took another sharp turn left and Toby was suddenly very aware of his mental barriers, which were being bombarded with very emotional, distressing thoughts.

The pumpkin came to an abrupt halt.

"This is EMT number 1022274 calling in to say we've arrived at the scene on NewYork Boulevard…please standby," Oz said calling in their arrival.

In front of them was a school bus that had been tipped on its side by a large truck, which had its cargo of Ramen Noodle packages all over the street. The bus wasn't just tipped over. It was completely cut in half with the truck protruding through the middle of it.

"My god…Oz…" Toby said under his breath as Oz took in the sight. There were 3 other ambulances already at work on the children that had been pulled out by firefighters. Polices officers were blocking off onlookers from approaching the scene.

Toby's mind reeled at the onslaught of thoughts that attempted to break through his mental barriers. A few succeeded.

_My god they're just children…Damn't this kid's leg is completely shattered…C'mon kid don't give up on me now…How could something so terrible happen? What the hell was the truck driver doing!..._

Toby closed his eyes and breathed deeply in a quick attempt to strengthen his barrier. A second later he shared a quick glance with Oz who nodded in return, and together they exited the pumpkin with their gear on there backs. It was only a few feet between the pumpkin and the tipped over school bus, but the two sprinted the distance anyways.

There was no time for a liesurely walk.

**Author's Note:**

**Omg omg omg! :D First fanfic EVA! And it's posted! I'm so proud of myself! :P Please review and tell me everything you think about it! Did the spandex scare you off a bit? Because honestly it scared me a bit…but anyways I hope you liked the first chapter and you can expect me to post some more chapters in the near future! And don't worry; I do actually have a plan for this fanfic. I'm not just winging it. The plan is set; it's just a matter of writing the chapters now and seeing how it turns out. Hope to hear your reviews ;)**


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

" Toby…I need you to focus on my thoughts. One by one, try to block out all the other thoughts."

A 10 year old Toby Logan sits on the couch in Ray's office; his eyes shut tightly and his hands covering his ears. He breathes quickly. His eyes shut even tighter, and then in a fast motion he begins to shake his head, admitting defeat.

"I…I can't do it! There…." His eyes open and look up at Ray. Ray's breath pauses at the sheer pain and distress that can be seen in Toby's deep blue eyes.

"There are too many…" He says with his voice cracking. He shuts his eyes again. Ray rubs his temples with his hands as he quickly decides to change tactics.

"Alright then. Don't try to focus on my thoughts. Instead, just allow the thoughts that you hear, to exist. Just relax. You're trying too hard Toby. Just take deep breaths and relax. Allow the thoughts to come and go."

"Ray I can't…The emotions… it hurts too much—"

"It's not your pain. Toby it's not yours. Just because you can hear and feel what people are thinking doesn't mean that they are your pains and your sufferings. I need you to repeat to yourself Toby; these thoughts are not my thoughts," There was silence as Toby tried to relax a bit, his breaths quickening. Ray walked over to him, bent down, and put his hands on Toby's shoulders.

"C'mon Toby…repeat with me. These thoughts are not my thoughts. These thoughts are not my thoughts—"

"These…" Toby said cutting Ray off momentarily.

"That's it Toby. These thoughts are not my thoughts," Ray says watching Toby, his grasp on his shoulders tightening.

"These…These thoughts…These thoughts are not my thoughts," Toby says finally. He repeats himself.

"These thoughts are not my thoughts. These thoughts are not my thoughts," Toby says over and over again like a Buddhist chant. Ray begins to notice some tension leaving Toby's facial features.

"That's it Toby. They're not your thoughts. Just because you hear them, it doesn't mean you have to get caught up in them. Just allow them to exist. Just allow them to be there."

Toby's expression softened and his grip over his ears loosened.

"There are just…There are so many—"

"I know. But they are not yours. Now Toby…is the distinction clear? Can you tell which thoughts and feelings are yours, and which are not?"

Slowly…and with a shaky inhaling of air, Toby nodded his head. Ray let out a sigh of relief and relaxed a little. _Thank God._

Toby looked up at him, his eyes wide and bluer than normal. Ray nods at him with understanding, and begins to think calm and clear thoughts for the sake of Toby.

This had been a serious situation. Toby's control over his ability had been steadily increasing, but there were moments where everything Ray taught Toby could be rendered useless in an instant. These moments often occurred when Toby was emotionally distressed …or had been lacking in sleep; there were occasions when simply keeping up the barriers would mentally and physically strain Toby to his limits.

This time was one of them.

Ray had gotten the phone call two hours ago. He told Toby's foster parents, who were nearly at their own limits after frantically trying to figure out what was wrong with Toby, to just bring him over so Ray could work with him for a little while. Ray had spent the past hour and a half trying different methods with Toby in an attempt to shut out the invading thoughts.

"You're doing great Toby. Now I need you to take deep, slow breaths. Try to calm yourself." Toby did as he was told, not once taking his eyes of Ray. Ray could see in those eyes, all the thousands of thoughts that were passing through Toby's mind. He could see them in the minute twitches of Toby's facial features, as one moment Toby would feel extreme anger and then suddenly extreme sadness. But they were not his thoughts. They were not his feelings.

Toby took deep breaths.

"Good. Good Toby, keep breathing deeply. And as you do so I need you to focus on my thoughts so you have a reference point as you begin to one by one, close out the invading thoughts. You need to build up your mental barriers," Ray said relaxing his grip on Toby's shoulder and allowing his hands to fold into his lap as he sat on the couch next to Toby. He watched Toby as his whole body seemed to relax with each breath. He didn't need to ask to know what was going on. Toby was centering himself. He was building his barriers. Ray knew it was working. Slowly, and one by one Toby was shutting out the voices.

Being Toby's psychiatrist definitely had its challenges. Especially when you had to keep inventing new ways for Toby to control his ability so that it wouldn't over power him. Toby was a tough cookie, but Ray was committed. Not just because it was his job, and that there was an incredible amount of research material that could be gained from Toby; that was the bonus. But Ray was helping Toby because he genuinely cared for him. Ray really, truly cared for Toby as if he was his own child. When Ray would look back from time to time on his past, he never quite understood why he didn't just adopt Toby and end Toby's struggle of constantly switching foster parents. Perhaps he just thought it ethically and morally wrong at the time; to one day be the child's psychiatrist and then adopt him the next. Whatever the reason, what was done was done…and now all that Ray had were memories of what was. There was no reason to imagine what could have been.

Toby took one last deep breath and his eyes that had remained open and distant as he struggled to regain control, closed softly. Out of pure exhaustion and lack of strength to hold himself upright, Toby began to fall over. Ray caught him.

"Woah Toby! You ok?" Ray asked in concern as he got up and laid the child down on the couch. Toby mumbled in response and Ray smiled softly at Toby. He knew the worse of the whole ordeal was over. If not all the thoughts, Toby had at least been able to shut most of them out.

Now Toby was consumed with exhaustion. Ray stood watching as the boy who, just a few minutes ago was begging for help, lay motionlessly, drifting off into a deep sleep. Ray decided to leave him there and let him rest for a couple hours. He didn't have any appointments till later in the afternoon, and he had some paperwork to finish off. He decided he would let Toby sleep, and then he would call his foster parents to tell them to come and pick him up.

Ray would have to come up with something to tell them. Ray understood the importance of keeping Toby's gift a secret, even from his foster parents. It was Toby's gift, and unfortunately it was also his curse. It was a burden that Toby had to carry, and Ray knew quite well how Toby hated burdening people with problems. Perhaps it was because Toby was always burdened with others' problems, that he didn't want others to feel the emotional stress that he had to deal with. But whatever the reason was for why Toby hated sharing his secret, Ray new full well that he personally did not have the right to share it unless Toby said it was ok. This was because it was not Ray's secret to share.

It was Toby's secret. And it was rightfully Toby's to choose what to do with.

**Author's Note:**

**Okie Dokie. That's chapter 2. I did a flashback because I needed to explore Toby's 'secret' a bit more. I mean, because that's the whole point of the story! It's about peoples' secrets! Logical eh? Watching the series, it never really explores Toby's limitations...the good things or the bad things...and for me personally it doesn't really give a whole lot of insight into his gift. So I find a lot of free room for interpretation on Toby's telepathy. I've decided that thoughts are always linked to emotions and therefore when Toby really struggles to keep a sense of himself and he loses his barriers, he begins to feel the feelings as well. So anyways reviews always help :) It'll help to keep me motivated :P Hope you like it so far!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

Amidst the chaos of the crash, Toby had to continuously repeat to himself under his breath, "They are not my thoughts…they are not to my thoughts," as he and Oz bandaged children's broken limbs, or put gauges around bones that were sticking out. The thoughts were overwhelming, but Toby didn't have the time or the strength to regulate his barriers. So the thoughts drenched his mind, and flooded his own thoughts to the point that he could barely hear them.

"They are not my thoughts…they are not my thoughts," he repeated over and over again to himself as he worked.

Oz took a quick glance to study his partner carefully. He knew something wasn't right. Oz could see the distant look in Toby's eyes that often appeared when he was consumed in others thoughts. But Oz decided not to say anything, out of fear of making whatever was going on in Toby's head, worse than it already was. Besides, Toby was handling himself professionally with the patients. He was still able to form coherent sentences when talking with them and could focus just enough to seem professional. But all it took was a keen eye to see that Toby was off his game.

Quite a few more ambulances had arrived. Toby hadn't heard the sirens but he could feel the extra thoughts added to his load. The ambulances had brought doctors along with them as was the usual protocol during some of the more desperate situations. But Toby wasn't complaining. They needed all the help they could get. And he wasn't vain enough to complain about the extra thoughts when there were lives at stake. It had turned out that on the other side of the tipped over school bus, there were four cars that had swerved in an attempt to avoid a collision. Of course as the first two cars had attempted to swerve out of the way, the other 2 cars were also trying to swerve out of the way and ran into the first two cars. So the basic summary of the whole mess was it was just a really bad day for a lot of people. And that was a complete understatement.

"Can you tell me where it hurts?" Toby said to a little girl, no more then 7 years old. The girl had tears streaming down her cheeks and her hair was caked with crimson blood, turning her blond curls into a disturbing orange, reddish color. Toby wasn't sure if it was her blood or the blood of others, so he began to carefully run his fingers through her hair looking for any possible contusions. He didn't find any. That meant it was other children's blood. He sighed deeply with relief as the girl shook her head to signify she didn't feel any pain.

_I can't feel my legs!...Where's my mommy?...This kid's losing blood fast and is going to need a blood transfusion...I can't see! Why can't I see? Am I blind? Oh my god am I blind!...I hope Toby's ok cause he really looks out of it..._

Toby moaned as he put his hand to his head. The voices were gradually getting louder as his control continued to loosen.

_Damn these ambulances! Why aren't there more of them?...Damn't this kid's stuck, and I can't lift him out through this tight spot! How the hell am I going to get him out of here?…Aeryn, relax. Breathe deeply. In, out. In, out. You can do this. Just place your hands on the child, feel what needs to be healed and then heal it. It's ok; nobody's watching._

_Ok. Here I go._

Toby turned his head to the right, towards the loudest of these thoughts and saw a blond haired man, in civilian clothes, laying his hands down on a child who was on a gurney.

Toby's eyebrows squinted together in confusion, unsure as to what the man was doing…and that's when he felt it.

As the man laid his hands on the child, Toby felt a rush of overwhelming pain coerce his body. In an agonizing yell, Toby fell to the ground suddenly oblivious to everything around him. All he could focus on was the overwhelming feeling of pain. He didn't notice the curly blond haired girl begin to shake his arm in desperation. She didn't know what was wrong with him. Oz turned and saw Toby on the ground.

"Toby!" He yelled, but that was all he could do because he was busy dressing the wounds of a little boy.

Toby could do nothing. He couldn't move, he couldn't block the thoughts, and he couldn't think. Or if he was thinking, he couldn't hear his own thoughts. He had never had a thought so overwhelming that it took away his complete control over his physical body so completely. Sure it had happen before, but nothing like this.

The waves of pain ran through his body again and he moaned.

But then suddenly in an instant, a white, hot feeling filled his body, and it seemed to comfort the pain Toby was feeling. He felt a burst of joy at the feeling of the dissipating pain, and realized that the pain was mending…and it was going away.

In another instant, the sensation was gone. And not just the one particular thought, but all thoughts that Toby was picking up before, were no longer swimming around in his head. There was silence. There was an odd, eerie silence that filled Toby's mind.

Toby suddenly became aware that he was lying on the ground and the girl with the curly hair was nudging his arm. When he looked at her, the child relaxed and began to cry again. Quickly, he stood up, surprised at how easy it was to move. There was no burden in his head, and his body felt refreshed. His barrier was in place. But he hadn't set it in place. Before whatever had happened, the barrier had been eradicated…destroyed, left for the herds of thoughts to bombard his mind.

But now it stood strongly in place, and in fact stronger than Toby ever was capable of making it. It was so strong, that no thoughts entered his mind.

Which never, ever happened.

There were always a few thoughts that would slip in. But now, all that was left was the slight humming against his shields, which reassured him that he hadn't lost his ability.

He placed a reassuring hand on the girls shoulder, and then turned to look back at the blond haired man who had previously laid his hands on the child.

The man was leaning against the gurney, over the little boy, and looked exhausted. He was breathing deeply, his chest rising and falling.

The next thing that happened, deeply shocked Toby. The man looked up at him, and with similar, vibrant blue eyes, he locked his gaze with Toby. And in that instant, Toby received a burst of intuition that did not correspond with his gift.

…The man knew.

He knew Toby's secret.

**Author's Note:**

**You guys have no IDEA how much I love this character I'm introducing! xD Seriously! And I don't want to spoil the story so I really have to zip my mouth right now… :(**

…**pfft xD ok I'll attempt to talk about him without giving too much away…**

… **I love him to bits! :D Yes he's an OC…and he's a bit of a (MARY SUE, I think it's called?)But not to worry, I've toned him WAY DOWN and I've made him more as a support character instead of a spotlight hogger. I will be extra, super duper careful not to make him a Mary Sue (even though he has all the qualities of one :P) But anyways, I have no doubt that you will end up loving him as much as I do as the story continues to unfold! And I apologize for all the suffering I'm putting Toby through right now :P It's got to happen though. That's part of the whole exploration of his abilities.**

**I hope you're enjoying my fanfic so far! :D**


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

If there was indeed an Omniscient Deity who fit the almighty description of God, Toby had long decided, that he had a very sick and twisted sense of humor.

The ability to see people as clearly as Toby could was not an easy thing to cope with. Dark thoughts and malicious ideas are potent and often evasive to all people surrounding these individuals who have trouble seeing the bright side of life. For Toby, there was often a deep respect that he gave to people who were naturally positive thinkers, and he strived to surround himself with such people. Oz was the perfect example. Simplistic, peaceful, level headed, and most importantly:

Happy.

People who are unhappy as Toby realized long ago, are people who hate other people that feel happy. Such is his boss Ryder. Of course, Oz isn't one of the brightest people to ever live and in fact needs a dose of Ryder every now and again, but there are times where Ryder will inconvenience Oz just because he's in a bad mood. And Oz, just because he's Oz, won't tell him to shove it as Toby would have on several occasions. Though Ryder did not realize what he was doing and why, this was the driving factor for Ryder to exert his anger on Oz. Sometimes, Toby could see so deeply into others that he saw things that people didn't consciously know about themselves. Even to the people Toby trusted and knew so well, there were things that he would never be able to share with them. There were certain truths that were given to him through his ability that nobody would believe because nobody was willing to. Toby knew the very things that people would push so far out of their consciousness that when faced with the reality Toby would offer them (He's tried on a few occasions) they would lash out in anger to protect themselves from the very things that they feared the most. Toby kept his secret because everybody was afraid. They were afraid of themselves, afraid of what others think about them, and most importantly, afraid to face their fears.

In a world of secrecy and hiding, the only way to exist with ease is to hide and keep secrets as well. Toby, with such a confronting ability can only exist in a world of secrecy.

Because nobody wants to know the truth. As Toby discovered, truth threatens security that people take within lies.

Growing up, Toby felt deep hatred for people because of this. He hated having to hide. He hated having to live in secrecy.

But as he grew up and reached adulthood (still alive and intact thanks to Ray) Toby began to see people in a new light. Of course there's the long story of how his views began to change, but perhaps another time. The ending result however, was that his view of people began to take a more positive, and even compassionate light. His respect of people grew when he realized that people are doing the best that they can do, with what little they have.

And everybody hurts.

Everybody goes through tough times.

On a brighter note, positive people such as Oz or even Ray were easy for Toby to be around because their thoughts were not evasive. Their flow of emotions were stable and not easily disrupted by unfortunate incidences. When Toby was younger, Ray was always used as a focal point of concentration when his serenity had been completely swept away from underneath of him. Oz was no different. On the job during stressful situations, Oz was the perfect partner for Toby. He was calm, focused and was the ideal person for Toby to cling to when drowning in the waves of emotional, evasive, and all encompassing dark thoughts of people around him.

That's why when Oz would often think of women, women, and big surprise; more women, Toby was often left prey to the sensual thoughts of his partner's fantasies. Oz was his stability. And if Toby's stability unfortunately thought very distracting thoughts while riding in the pumpkin, he had no choice but to go along with it and occasionally make enquiries on Oz's strange infatuation with tall, blond women.

In the moment that Toby's eyes locked with the stranger's abnormally deep, blue eyes, his need for Oz's support flared as he felt a shock of fear that followed with the realization that this stranger could somehow see through him. All his life Toby had been use to seeing through others, and now he understood what it felt like to be on the receiving end.

He felt naked. And suddenly he was very self-conscious about his own thoughts, his own feelings, and his very being. Amidst the chaos of the crash and the low humming of minds against Toby's solid shield, time seemed to stop. All that existed was the man staring at Toby. He didn't understand why, and he didn't understand how, but all Toby new was that this man could see him.

He could see through Toby's secret.

"Dude! Toby!" Oz shook Toby's shoulder but he didn't respond. Oz made a small clicking noise of annoyance with his tongue before following Toby's gaze to see what he was staring at. Oz's eyes fell upon a man with short, dirty blond hair and strikingly blue eyes. The man was using a gurney to support himself. Oz sighed and turned back to Toby before shaking him again.

"Toby! Dude! Focus! Are you alright! One minute you were doing your job and the next you were on the ground screaming in pain!"

Toby didn't respond. Oz rolled his eyes with annoyance.

Oz's grip on the shoulder tightened as he snapped his fingers impatiently in front of Toby's distant eyes.

"Toby, I need you here buddy, with me!" Toby jumped in surprise and turned to face Oz with a puzzled look on his face. For another moment, Toby watched as Oz sized him up before he turned to look at the guy over by the gurney who was now looking between Toby and Oz.

Oz looked back to Toby.

"Dude, stop staring at that guy so intensely. It's creeping me out! I mean, if you're into that sort of thing…" Oz said acknowledging with his body language the blue eyed guy. Toby looked back to the guy and began to stare again.

"I'll totally support it cause I like tall and blond too…just not the whole…yknow…buff and no boobs thing—"

"Wait..what are you saying!" Toby said turning his full attention to Oz. Oz gave a mental sigh of relief while he outwardly gave one of his most innocent, 'who me?' looks.

Toby was responding.

That was a good thing and that was all that Oz really cared about.

He had successfully been able to pull Toby out of neverland.

Toby scowled at him and started to turn back towards the guy but Oz roughly turned him around to look at him.

"Toby, we have a job to finish," he said motioning around to the accident and all the commotion going on around the two. Toby broke his eyes away from Oz to look for himself. Oz could see realization spring up across Toby's face as he saw the severity of what was going on around the two of them. And Oz most definitely did not miss the pang of guilt that followed the first expression. Toby began to pull away from Oz's guilt.

"Oz I'm sorry…I don't know what happened—"

"No worries Toby. This isn't your first time this has happened on the job…y'know? The whole…" Oz's eyes widened as his mouth laxed and fell open slightly. He stared at Toby until it couldn't be helped anymore, and Toby laughed at how ridiculous his friend looked. As soon as Toby cracked, Oz broke into a smile and patted his friend on the shoulder.

"C'mon, we've got to get to work," Oz said as he began to walk back to where he was treating injuries.

Toby followed.

"But Oz that guy—"

"We'll talk about it later Toby," Oz said firmly as he continued walking, not turning back to spare Toby a glance.

Toby let out a deep sigh as he followed Oz. But unlike Oz, he spared himself the luxury of looking back one last time. And when turned to look back,

The man was gone.

**Author's Note:**

**Hey everyone! Having this story reviewed is great motivation for me! :D So don't be afraid to do so! Preferably, positive reviews are my favorite! But I can take a good amount of criticism as well! If you guys have any suggestions, or things you'd like to see in the next upcoming chapters, don't be afraid to tell me! I don't see any reason for this not to become like a mini series of The Listener, so you can expect several more chapters to come. I don't plan on stopping this anywhere in the future, and while I have a plan for how this current plot needs to play out, I have several other ideas that are developing. So this'll probably turn in to a super duper long story with several chapters. **

**And while I'm on the topic of chapters I will say that writing this particular chapter was a very sloooowwwww process; as for me personally it felt like nothing happened xD And for that, I apologize! :D :D **

**Another thing I apologize for is how darn short these chapters I write are xD I want to be able to write super duper long chapters like you see some of the other professional fanfic writers do, but I just can't do it! I always get to about 1,500 words and I'm like... "Alrighty I'm all done! *Phew!* That sure felt like a long chapter! I wonder how long it is!" *looks at the bottom of the page at the word count* -_-**

**:P**

**I hope you enjoyed this chapter!**


	5. Chapter 5

Oz shifted gears and looked over at Toby with a look of concern. It had been a long, strenuous couple of hours and now he and Toby were on their way back to the hospital to report in. But for 10 minutes now, Toby had been awkwardly shifting from side to side in his chair, glancing over at Oz and then staring out the front window.

Neither of them had spoken a word.

It just felt wrong to talk.

Oz, after witnessing such an ordeal, thought silence was not only appropriate, but necessary. All patients had been tended to and taken back to the hospital via other ambulances. And although Oz and Toby had been exempted from the hustle and bustle of rushing to the hospital and back to the scene again, the emotional strain of participating in such a stressful situation did have its toll on Oz.

And if it had taken its toll on Oz, Toby had to have been flipping out. It was the only logical option for why he was acting so strange. Reading those minds had to have been intense.

So silence was a good thing.

…

…..

"Oz…"

…

…..

"…that man knows."

Toby glanced over at Oz again, shifted awkwardly for the millionth time, before resuming his gaze out the front window. Oz sighed in exasperation.

"Dude, you're ruining my silence policy," Oz said in a matter of fact tone of voice. Toby responded with a,

"Sorry," and there was another moment of silence.

…

…..

"…What guy? Blondie?"

"…Yeah."

Oz frowned.

"Well…how does _he_ know?" Oz asked. There was a hesitation from Toby as he tried to answer the question for himself, before he responded verbally back to Oz.

"I don't know."

Oz smirked, finding the comment amusing.

"Ok, so some how you know…that this guy knows? But you don't know _how_ you know…but you just… know?"

Toby thought about it.

"…Yup. Pretty much."

Oz's eyebrow lifted Spock style as his smirk remained firmly in place.

"You know, sometimes it sucks to be your friend. The whole psychic thing can be quite confusing to us mere mortals sometimes," Oz said sarcastically. He caught a slight twitch of Toby's lips out of the corner of his eye and couldn't help but shed a small smile.

"So you're worried about it…This guy knowing?" Oz asked glancing over at Toby. Toby didn't look back at him, and instead he was very concentrated on the studying of his hands that were lax in his lap.

"More like a little freaked out Oz. I don't know what he did, but my shields are firmly in place. I don't know how he did it."

"You're what are in place?" Oz asked.

"Remember when I talked to you about my barriers that I use to help keep thoughts out?" Toby asked. Oz snorted in response.

"Oh. You mean those crappy walls you use all the time to protect yourself against my attack of pretty women and lingerie?" Oz said sarcastically. He knew that Toby's shields sucked hardcore, because he was able to constantly abuse Toby's gift.

Oz's snort earned him a roll of the deep blue eyes.

"Yeah…well those shields are rock solid now. I can't hear anything. It's like a low humming sound in the back of my head somewhere…but that's it," Toby said, once again awkwardly shifting in his seat. Oz eyed him suspiciously.

"…Soooooo does it bug you? Y'know…not hearing any thoughts?" He asked while multi-tasking; keeping his eyes on the road and having them flutter over to catch Toby's reaction. He knew Toby wasn't lying as the worry grew prominent in Toby's features.

"Just a bit," Toby said quietly. There was a moment's pause, as both Toby and Oz felt the tension of awkward turtle fill the space between them. Though they were best friends and Oz often messed with Toby's ability, they had never gotten mushy over the whole topic. The two of them had never discussed the implications of what having the ability to read minds was actually like. It was something that both of them usually avoided at all costs. Toby was never comfortable about openly discussing his telepathy, and Oz had never pushed him for the information. But now was different. Oz could tell that Toby needed someone to speak to, and he simply needed a moment to figure out how to properly phrase his next sentence to Oz.

So Oz waited. And waited. And then Oz remembered that silence was a good thing. And after almost a minute of silence, Toby spoke up.

"…It feels like I'm alone. Almost like you don't exist and neither do any other human beings. I hear you talk, and I see all the people outside and in the cars…but I don't feel them. It's like suddenly everybody disappeared and I'm the only one."

There was another pause, and Oz looked over to study his friend carefully. Toby's face was scrunched in concentration as he carefully laid his head against the cold glass window of the ambulance.

Oz shrugged.

"Have you tried taking it down? Y'know, the shield?"

"I'm afraid that if I do that I'll get overrun by all the thoughts and won't be able to replace the shield," Toby said.

"So basically the barrier is a good thing, right? You're just not use to the intensity of it," Oz said reassuringly and Toby didn't respond.

"So does that mean you can't hear what I'm thinking?" Oz said looking over at Toby. Oz's face took on a perverted smile as he filled his head with as many hot, tall women as he could think of.

Toby risked a look at Oz. He burst out laughing.

"I don't need to read your mind to know what you're thinking, Oz," Toby replied. Oz laughed in response.

"I'm that obvious eh?"

"Yup." Oz laughed again and patted Toby on the arm, the previous tension dissipating as the two of them began to relax in the comfort of knowing each other so well.

"Look…Toby…Don't worry about it ok? Knowing how crappy your karma is you'll probably run into him sooner or later. You probably don't even have to go looking for him, cause he'll probably find you! And seriously, if he turns out to be a super evil villain, you got your trusty side kick to kick his butt for you! So don't worry about it. And this whole uberly strong mental shield? Pfft. You couldn't even make one so I'm pretty sure you definitely won't be able to keep one. Just give it time. It'll probably break down and everything will go back to normal!"

Toby shook his head at how ridiculous his friend was. But he couldn't ignore the bit of reassurance he felt from Oz's support.

"My trusty side kick, eh?" Toby said with a grin. Oz responded with a grin of his own.

"Hell yeah."

* * *

Oz parked the ambulance and then stretched dramatically before looking at his watch.

He tsked in disappointment.

"Aw man it's only 12.40! Can you believe we were only there for 3 and a half hours! It felt like we were there for ages!" He said ecstatically and Toby just shrugged; his thoughts not entirely away from the man at the incident. He tried not to wander back to it so much. But it had been such a strange incident…and Toby had never felt something like it before. His whole body felt like it was burning from the inside out. It was intense, and painful, and then the next moment it was gone. And not only that, but when the man had looked at him, Toby was bombarded with the sensation of being seen through, almost like he was naked.

And every time Toby thought back to the moment where he felt that the man knew his secret, his whole body shivered at the sheer intensity of the remembrance. There was no doubt in the certainty that Toby felt. He _knew_ that the man knew. He just didn't know how. And while excited about the prospect of there being somebody like him, there was also fear. What would this man be like? And if this man did have a secret like Toby's, would it be exactly the same? Did this man have the ability to read minds like Toby?

Oz unbuckled his seat belt, opened the door and stepped out, still stretching his arms and stifling a yawn. Toby unbuckled himself and stepped out as well, circling around over to where Oz was standing.

"Hey Oz, I drive after the break, okay?" Toby said patting Oz's shoulder. Oz was bent over stretching his hamstrings as Toby said this, and Oz shot up so fast grabbing both of Toby's shoulders, that Toby naturally tensed in reaction to the quick movement; his body ready to fight or flight. Oz stared into Toby's eyes intensely.

"Since you can't read my thoughts," _right now_, which was the unsaid Toby caught behind the intense glare, "let me spell it out to you, loud and clear. You will never, ever….never ever ever ever…drive MY pumpkin as long as you are my partner! In fact, let me make it as long as you live! As often as you seize up…"

Oz demonstrated so by widening his eyes and allowing his body to twitch in intervals…

"...I don't trust you. And trust me…me not trusting you is the best decision I've ever made in my life! And you will thank me one day for my wisdom," Oz said, concluding his speech with a pat of his own on Toby's shoulder. Toby just sighed and gave his best teenager "You suck I hate you look," while Oz just rolled his eyes.

"C'mon we have papers to fill out."

The two of them walked into the hospital and Toby was greeted with the eerie absence of thoughts. The realization of how strong his shields were hit him hard the minute he walked inside the hospital. Usually a focal point for pain, anger, stress, depression, sadness and many other strong emotions, Toby often found that he had the hardest time maintaining his shields in the hospital. And he put himself through such torture? Oz had said to him already that he was a complete idiot to do so, and often told him it was his egotistical belief that only he could save people that kept him around such a place. And if Toby allowed himself to think about it a bit, he would probably agree. But there really was a driving force deep within Toby that told him he needed to help people. And even if it was this egotistical belief that drove him in the direction of helping others, was it necessarily a bad thing?

People had done far worse things with egotistical beliefs about their self. So was the positive, constructive way of helping others all that bad?

Toby tended to not to think so.

There were still a few doctors running around frantically, but most of the patients of the accident were being tended to, or already were. The initial flood of chaos was beginning to dim down again and return back to normal. Oz and Toby walked over to the emergency desk to begin filling out paper work.  
Olivia was standing behind the desk organizing papers; her hair up in a pony tail but with a few stray strands sticking out in different directions. It was a sure sign of the stress that had just passed through the hospital with the happenings of the terrible accident.

If somebody had pointed the strands out to Olivia, she would without a doubt quickly redo her pony tail, with the need for perfection. But Toby couldn't help but think her hair looked cute in its current disheveled manner. So he said nothing.

Olivia looked up at the two, glancing at Oz, and then holding her gaze with Toby's eyes a minute before turning away.

"Hey guys, how'd it go?" She asked. Oz was about to speak, but Toby beat him to it.

"Not bad. A little hectic but doable," Toby said with the most charming and dashing smile he could manage. Olivia ignored it and Oz just rolled his eyes.

"Thanks," Oz said to Olivia as she handed him some papers to sign.

"Yeah, no problem," Olivia said with a small smile. Oz glanced over at Toby to see his smile turn sheepish as his cheeks blushed. Oz couldn't help the sigh that escaped his lips in regard to his lovestruck friend. Olivia and Toby _had_ been a thing. But that _thing_, was _history_.

And somebody had obviously forgot to tell Toby.

Of course, Olivia would swear up and down that if Toby had just told her the truth instead of hiding all of his secrets from her, they would still be together. But as safely guarded as Toby was, Oz knew that Toby wouldn't be ready to share his secret for at least another 2 years with Olivia.

And Olivia wasn't willing to wait.

"So how has it been here? Did everything go smoothly?" Oz asked Olivia. Olivia sighed with a hint of genuine stress being relieved and she returned to organizing papers.

"Yeah everything went ok I guess. But thank god we had that doctor who transferred today from Trinity Hospital," Oz's right eyebrow quirked upwards.

"There's a new guy around here and I don't know about it?"

Olivia gave a look of 'nothing unusual about that,' and responded, "Apparently."

She looked up at Oz and Toby about to say something more, when her gaze strained past the two of them.

"Well!" She exclaimed. "Speak of the Devil!"

Oz and Toby, curious to who this new doctor was, turned to see for themselves. Oz was hoping for a beautiful, tall, brunette woman and was shocked to his very core when he turned to see just exactly who this doctor was.

It was blondie from the accident.

Next to him, Oz could practically feel Toby's body tense in anticipation, as the blond haired man could be seen down the hallway talking to Dr. Lang; The Chief of the hospital.

Unable to move, Oz and Toby just stared, flabbergasted. The doctor and the Chief walked closer to them while discussing something animatedly.

Toby couldn't believe his eyes. Did his karma really suck this bad? Every step that the Chief and that man took closer to him, he became more aware of the pounding of his heart in his chest; fuelled by fear, and excitement.

The moment the man reached the point where Oz, Toby and Olivia were standing, and the moment the man looked away from the Chief and caught Toby's deep blue gaze, Toby felt it again.

Though he didn't know how, Toby instinctively knew this guy_ knew_ his secret. And it scared the crap out of him.

"Oz, Toby," Olivia said stepping over and around the counter to dictate the meeting. She looked at the man, who turned his gaze away from Toby once to smile at Olivia, and Toby couldn't help but notice Olivia's cheek's blush.

She gestured towards the man while looking at Toby and Oz.

"This is Dr. Monroe. He transferred in today from Trinity Hospital. Dr. Monroe," she said turning to address the man, "this is Oz and Toby. They're two of our paramedics," Olivia said with a small smile.  
Dr. Monroe looked at Toby again, who was staring intensely at him. He then looked at Oz, who was giving the Dr. the same treatment. But the doctor put his best business smile on, extended his hand politely and said,

"Oz, Toby, it's a pleasure to meet you both. My name is Aeryn. I look forward to working with you in the future."

**Author's Note:**

**Here's chapter 5! And thank you everyone for the reviews! They really help motivate me to write more! If you have any story suggestions, ideas you would like to contribute...any questions, concerns...feel free to comment to your heart's content! **

**InkStainedBlood Sorry about the pumpkin mistake :/ Had no idea. But I think I'm going to keep it this way, because I like the idea of Oz being emotionally attached to his ambulance he drives around. :) Thank you for your comment! :D :D**

**Flounder65 Thanks for the catch on the mistake! I fixed it ;) And like I said to Ink, thanks for the comment! I really appreciate it!**

**firewhisperer Hahaha I'm so glad you're enjoying my Fic :D I'll try to post again as soon as possible!**

**Kalanna Dae Thank you for commenting :) And yes I've started watching the second season! I'm pretty sure this fic takes place post Charlie era, but I haven't mentioned anything yet about the era, to give time for the second season to develop. This way I have a better understanding of the relationship the characters have during the second season!**

** ;) I plan to post TONS of chapters! And I'll try to post as often as I can! :D**

**Thank you everyone! Hope you continue to enjoy my story!**


	6. Chapter 6

"It's nice to meet you, Aeryn," Toby said with as real a smile as he could pull off. Oz on the other hand gave a facial expression that mimicked, "hey how ya doin?" and then put his hands in his pockets to hide their fidgeting. When it came down to it, Oz was terrible at keeping secrets. Nobody had to be a mind reader to figure out what he was thinking. And Oz was struggling desperately to hold everything he knew and not blurt it out right then and there.

Toby wasn't much better. Sure he could pull off a lie here and there, but whenever someone was close on his trail, sniffing out his secret, it usually didn't take long for Toby to just tell them. He was quite proud of himself for how normal he seemed right now. No fidgeting, no hands in pockets to hide something; he _seemed _normal.

But he too, was anxious for answers.

Aeryn was calm and composed. A business smile plastered on his face, his eyes innocently flickering between Oz, Toby, and lingering on Olivia for a split second longer. Toby didn't miss it and felt a pang of jealousy spike through him before quickly suppressing it. What was more important now was figuring out this strange enigma that was Aeryn Monroe. The only part of Aeryn that didn't seem to fit his calm composure was his head of crazy dirty blond hair. It was short, but long enough to stick out in different directions and completely contrast with the rest of Aeryn. Crazy hair wasn't fitting the doctor look.

"Paramedics eh? Did you just get back from the crash site?" Aeryn said with a glint in his eyes, not missing the slight jump of surprise in Oz's stature before he clumsily said,

"Crash site? What crash site? Oh right THE crash site!" Oz snorted and then laughed looking down at his shoes before looking up. Olivia looked at him strangely and Toby started inspecting the wall to his left.

"Right…yeah of course. We just got back actually. It was a pretty hectic morning," Oz said, nudging Toby for some help. Toby cleared his throat.

"Yeah…real hectic," Toby added. Oz nudged him and Toby could practically feel Oz's eye roll and unsaid 'real help you are, buddy.'

Toby tried to continue saying something.

"Uh…In fact, I swear I saw you there this morning. But y'know, it was pretty chaotic…so maybe I've got you mixed up with someone?" Toby asked Aeryn.  
The glint in Aeryn's eye got brighter asthe small game between them continued.

"Yes, yes, Aeryn was there this morning," the Chief pitched in. "He was on his way here when he got stuck in the traffic caused by the crash." The chief chuckled before continuing, "In fact I was beginning to worry that I would have to fire him on his first day for being so late!" He said jokingly and clasped Aeryn on the shoulder. Everyone smiled in response, out of courtesy for their boss.

"Huh," Toby said, breaking the silence. "So I guess I did see you then," he added as a statement rather than a question. His eyes narrowed in suspicion as Aeryn tried to hide the forming of a small smile.  
"I guess you did," Aeryn said, his eyes full of laughter. Toby squirmed as he realized he was being played with; that strange, fearful feeling he had for the guy returning almost instantly.

Oz bravely cut in to the awkward staring between Toby and Aeryn.  
"So! What's your field of specialty?" he said.  
"I work in general surgery. I uh, finished off my internship at Trinity, spent a couple years there and then decided I needed a change," he said smiling.

"We are very glad to have you," Dr. Lang said, once again patting Aeryn on the shoulder while pushing his glasses up his nose. Those glasses were notorious for their constant tendency to be persuaded by gravity.

"Well, we should get back to Stryder before he comes hunting us down," Toby said slapping his hands together in declaration of his decision. He was done with this awkward, 'I know you know I know something about you,' situation and it was beginning to give him a headache.

"Of course," The chief said folding his hands behind his back. "Well then Aeryn! Should I show you the rest of the hospital?" The chief said looking up at Aeryn. Aeryn turned his attention to the Chief, but gave Olivia a quick smile, who blushed and gave a small smile in return. It was in this moment that Toby realized then that Aeryn was a good few inches taller than he was, and he quickly stood up straight trying to seem taller.

"Oh! Sir I know how busy you are. Perhaps I could show him around instead?" Olivia said hiding her hopefulness behind a stern look. Toby sniffed it out instantly and once again became profoundly interested in the wall next to him. Oz caught the change in Toby's demeanor and began to smile but tried to hide it by inspecting his shoes. If Aeryn caught it, he didn't let on, and the chief was completely oblivious.

Aeryn ran a hand through his hair and smiled at Dr. Fawcett and she flirtatiously smiled back.

"I think that's a wonderful idea," Aeryn said and Toby's head snapped up, just in time to catch Oz's eye rolling. Toby felt the familiar feel of jealousy begin to swell in his chest and he quickly looked away once again, pretending to not see anything.

"Yes it's a good idea. And while you're at it Dr. Fawcett, can you begin introducing him to a few of his patients? The list is upstairs in my office, if you don't mind. You guys can run by and grab it after the tour of the hospital," the chief said waving his hands in the air, motioning to the hospital around them.

"…Well we should get going. It's been a pleasure to meet you," Oz said, reaching his hand out for Aeryn to shake.

It was a small, barely audible sensation in the back of Toby's mind…but Toby could almost hear the distressed alarm bells that began ringing in Aeryn's head. Toby studied Aeryn's features for discomfort of any kind, but there were no signs of pain on Aeryn's face.

"I guess I'll see you guys around then," Aeryn said as he shook Oz's hand. Aeryn's arm flinched minutely, and Toby's attention immediately focused on the handshake. Aeryn's mouth had formed a thin line and a in split second Aeryn's eyes flickered away from the eye contact with Oz.

The handshake ended and Aeryn calmly dropped his arm to the side subtly clenching his hand into a fist. Aeryn released a slow breath, before a small smile returned to his face.

"So? Shall we get going?" Olivia said chirpy. Aeryn grinned.

"Sure," he said and they began walking away, Olivia beginning to ask questions about Aeryn's last job, while Aeryn stole a quick glance back at Oz, before tucking his hands into his pocket and walking down the hall with Olivia. The Chief gave a small nod of acknowledgment to Oz and Toby before wandering off down the hall humming.

Toby's shields were still standing strong. He was only able catch a few things from Aeryn, but they were so distant and quiet that he could barely hear them. Out of fear of what would happen if he lowered his shields, he decided for the best to leave them up. Which meant if he wanted information, he'd have to find out the hard way.

_Shame, _he thought sarcastically, excited by the future prospect of figuring something out like a true detective. Charlie would be proud, and he would have to tell her later all about it. Unless, of course he decided to just _ask_ Aeryn. Which for Toby, wasn't exactly a normal thing to do either. Sure he often asked people out of kindness and respect whenever it was required of him to do so, but he often already knew everybody else's little secrets. He often knew everything there was to know about a person, and whenever he wanted to know, all he had to do was look. He understood that this was something people feared. And his shields were often good, but sometimes when he would get tired, or would zone out the shield would drop for a split second, and other people's secrets were suddenly no longer a secret to him. Very rarely, and becoming more frequent on occasions with Charlie, did he begin to voluntarily see into people's minds. He had spent a whole lifetime trying to block out thoughts, and now he was undoing everything he had learned.

However, he was discovering that in this moment without his ability on full blast, everything was suddenly eerily quiet. He felt blindfolded, and for the first time in a long time, he was beginning to puzzle at how human beings made it through everyday life without _knowing _things. Without the comfort that other people were there, struggling with similar life lessons and every day hardships.

"Well. That was awkward," Oz finally said after the two had been standing there in their own worlds. Oz turned to Toby with a wide grin, and Toby stared at him for a few moments expecting him to say something. When it was clear, Toby lost his patience and finally asked, "What?" Oz just continued to stare. Then Oz laughed out loud before turning to walk back out to the pumpkin.

"Well… I dunno about you…but the whole," Oz stared at Toby with a small smile to emphasize his point. "It was beginning to freak me out. I mean seriously, if he likes looking at you that much he should just ask you out already, get dumped and get over with it so all our minds can be put at ease!"

Toby shook his head and sighed.

"Yeah that was kind of strange wasn't it?" He said. Oz snorted. "You don't say! At first I was all freaking out like…Oh my god it's that dude!" He said stopping and widening his eyes for dramatic effect. "And then I was like…DUDE! He's giving the, 'I'm going to eat you look' that I give when I'm about to eat a sandwich—"

"You do not look like that," Toby said rolling his eyes and continuing to walk through the hallways of the hospital.

"pfft then you haven't seen me eat a sandwhich!" He said catching up to Toby. Toby just shook his head.

"…ok…I guess you have seen me eat a sandwhich. But that's not the point! Aeryn, that guy, was the THE guy right?"

"That's the guy," Toby said in a monotonous voice.

The instinctual reaction to a possible threat was beginning to subside in Toby. All he felt now was excitement due to the prospect of something being different about Aeryn. Toby knew it. Aeryn's reaction to Oz shaking his hand was good evidence for Toby. The only reason it sufficed was because of the tingly sensation Toby got in the back of his mind when it happened. He knew was picking something up.

Oz groaned, and Toby looked at him strangely, waiting for an explanation. Oz sighed.

"Well, it's nice and all we met him and everything…but we still don't know what's up with that guy! When the heck are we going to find out? I'm curious now!" Oz said flinging his arms into the air. Toby grinned.

"You and me both," Toby said. "Any speculations?" Oz asked. Toby thought for a moment.

"Well…If you haven't noticed, there aren't many people I know with abilities in this world. You're the one who read all those comic books when you were young, so you probably have a better idea," Toby said.

"When I was young! Heck I still read them now!" Oz said exasperated that Toby suggested comic books were just for kids.  
Toby knocked on Ryder's door, told him they were headed back out and surprisingly escaped without being yelled at before joining Oz and sitting himself down in the passenger's seat.

"Something happened when Aeryn shook hands with you," Toby said as he buckled his seatbelt. "His arm flinched and his facial features tensed…almost as if it hurt him to touch you," Toby said. Oz made a very audible humpf noise before smacking his thigh with his hand.

"Ah!" He said. "Ok well that's definitely like touch telepathy or something, you know? Like Spock or something. You ever see Star Trek?"

"No." The glare that Oz gave him sent shivers down his spine.

"You've NEVER seen Star Trek?" Oz asked, as slowly and as calmly as he could manage.

Toby shrugged. "Nope."

The glare intensified. "OH MY God! My dear friend WHAT have you been doing for the odd 30—"

"28"

"Whatever- years of your life? Alright our plans this Friday night are Star Trek marathon." Oz said as he turned the keys and started the engine.

Toby sighed. "And I guess I don't get a say in this?"

"Not when it comes to Star Trek."

Toby loudly plopped his head against the window, making sure his attitude was apparent. "So as you were saying Oz?"

"Oh right! Well basically, Spock is like this Vulcan…right? And Vulcans are touch telepaths. So basically you, but only through touching somebody. And whenever Spock touched people he would get all squirmy like you said Aeryn did."

"So a touch telepath? Really?" Toby said, excitement beginning to bubble up inside of him at the prospect. Oz shrugged. "Who knows, I guess we'll have to ask later. In the meantime, I'm hungry. What do you want to go eat? Hot dogs sound good to you?"

* * *

**Sorry for the months it took for me to update this. I can't be sure when the next time I'll add something to this will be. My life is getting quite hectic. But I hope you enjoy this new chapter! (I know, I know, I'm really dragging out the whole Aeryn mystery, but perhaps I gave you a little insight, no? :D )**


End file.
